Feminine Fire

"Well said, Jess," Brian said. "Khaat, have I ever, even one time, not been a good father to either of our girls?"

"No! Never! You're a wonderful father!" she frowned.

"Have I treated your wards like they are any less ours than Abbey or Dakota?"

"No." she said.

"I am sorry that you were bewitched like that," he said. "I really am. But am I sorry we're having more kids? Not one little bit. Not even for a moment. Stop feeling guilty. You know that the potions you were given made you both act in ways you never would have done again. You and I don't have any issues. We're good. Accio!" He flicked his wand towards the kitchen, and the fruit bowl from the counter floated in. He lowered it onto the coffee table. "I"m hungry," he said. He looked over the fruit bowl and chose a fresh apricot. He looked at Khaat, "Want something?"

"Are those ripe?" she eyed his apricot.

"Looks like it," he handed her the apricot and picked up another for himself. "Anyone else for a snack?"

Jess shook her head but jack looked " any pears?" he asked nd looked in the bowl taking one jess looked at him " you know what those do" she said " I don't want to be sleeping with the window open again, if you do..." she sighed as he saw Jack take a bite " thats it your being a bug, a stink bug" she siad and jack chuckled. " im not that bad " he said seeing jess's look at him and he looked at Brian and Khaat " honistly im not that bad. " have you smelt it , the kids thought we had a gas leak last time you had pears " she said and folded her arms. she drew her wand and changed his pear to and apple " eat that its safe" she said and chuckled as he roled his eyes and continued to eat.

Angus picked up a bunch of grapes, and Abbey watched them picking pieces of fruit with tremendous interest. She looked at Brian and made a frustrated little groan, trying to reach for his apricot. He pulled off a teeny tiny bite for her.

"You like pureed apricots. You probably will like this," he told her. She opened her mouth like a little baby bird, waiting for her papa to feed her. He laughed and put the piece of fruit in her mouth. She played with the bite for a moment in her mouth, with a somewhat puzzled look on her face and then swallowed and opened her mouth for another bite. That made Brian laugh out loud. "Ah, you liked that, huh? Okay, I'll share." Dakota let out an angry, jealous little cry at seeing that Abbey was getting something she was not.

"Would one of you there take care of Little Miss Jealous?" Brian laughed.

Jess picked up dakota and took an apple taking a peice she gave it to her to chew on as she held on to her smiling at Abbys antiks " thats so cute " she said " well she's ertainly got good taste in food if she likes fruit" jess said pasing Dakota another slice of apple hoping that would apeze her but she knew it might not seeing how she was focused on Abby and the attenshion she was getting from brian " what about daddy take dakota and let mommy feed Abby for a bit " she sugested " that way nether will feel left out and you won't think any one is being forgotten " she placed Dakota on his knee and abby on khaats.

Abbey and Dakota sat on Khaat and Brian's laps and ate little nibbles of fruit. They were such teeny tiny bites that there wasn't much chewing to them, and the girls delighted in the sweet taste of the fruit. Brian watched Dakota and said softly, "You're a good mother, Khaat. You're a better mother to my girls than my mother was to me."

"Brian!" she said softly. "You've never said anything except that your mother was a saint."

"Khaat," he said thoughtfully. "She loved us. So did my dad. But, you know what? I've never seen anyone watch so carefully as you do. You watch every move they make, you care about even the tiniest bit of food that goes in their mouths, you know the slightest sound they make. My parents cared, but it wasn't until I actually lost what I had that I found out what love really was--when I came to live with you all. My parents weren't Gryffindors. My mother was a Hufflepuff, and my dad was a Ravenclaw. My mother was very passive. My father was bright, but having fun and making money were the most important things in his life."

"They weren't Gryffindors? I never knew that."

"Kieran gets his cleverness from our father. Fiona gets her passivity from my mother. I...don't belong. Anywhere."

"Yes you do," came the sound of a new voice. Khaat looked up to see that her mother had apparated into the room. "You belong with us. We knew your parents' houses. Brian, you got your Gryffindor nature from Robert." Brian just frowned, confused. "Brian," Kate went over to him and stroke the hair of the young man she thought of as her son, "do you remember the first year or so you were with us?"

"I do," he said.

"The only one who could do anything with you was Robert. You were so angry, and you had every right. But in the end, it was Robert who you bonded to. It was Robert who got the brunt of your anger and your grief. He was the one who came to you in the middle of the night when you would wake up screaming from the memories of that crash. And you learned to trust again because he was just always there for you, no matter what you dished out at him. You got your Gryffindor heart from him."

"You and Robert and Khaat were the best things that ever happened to me," he said. He was about to say something more when Dakota began to shout at Kate for her attention, shouting "GA! GA! GA!...." and tugging on slacks. That made everyone laugh.

"You really do have to work with this one," Kate laughed, picking up Dakota, "She is a demanding little thing."

"I have a cure for that," he smiled. "Max!" he called. The white cat came out of nowhere. "Babies, Max," Brian said. Max walked over to them and started pawing at Dakota's shoe. Kate put Dakota down on the floor and she began to crawl after Max immediately.

jessica sat listening and took it all in she sighed thinking about her own perants who just dumped her at the school and did nothing else for her. She in away knew how Brian felt since robert had been the only person to take an intrest in her gift helping her understand when she went threw her brake down and helping Jack when he sipped with his ware thing. Jess chuckled as Max woddled in and Dakota crawled after him happily. " yeap thats one clever cat" she said and smiled at Kate.

Khaat could hear Jess's thoughts as clearly as she heard her own. "Jess," she said. "Wasn't it you that just said DNA didn't mean anything? How long have you been a part of our family now? If we could just teach Kieran the same thing...."

"Kieran does somewhat know that now," Brian said. "He sends an owl just about once a week. He never did any of that before. But he and I both keep wondering about Fiona. We haven't seen her since our parents died."

"Brian," Khaat said, "She lives in Ireland. You know where she lives. Why don't we bring Kieran and go to Ireland and go find her? At least so you can see her. Maybe you can make peace."

"Go to Ireland?" he looked at her blankly.

"Why not? She's family. Perhaps she just needs to be invited back in," Khaat said. She looked at Jess and Jack. "Have either of you ever been to Ireland?"

Jess looked at Khaat and smiled " I know and your right " she said smiling to her listening more " he sounds like he realy has turned his life around " she said to Brian " I'm happy for you both " she smiled and then listened about his sister " do you think with all the unrest there is there she'd still live there?" she asked " I heard factios against wizards are strong there, homes being blown up and wizards being killed " she said looking from one to the other .

"Fiona supposedly lives in a rural area, but that's about all I know. So long as she feels that she isn't going to be found or disturbed, then my guess is that she'll stay. Her husband is Irish born and bred and he has no interest in leaving his home, even if it kills him, his wife or his kids. But thats the last I knew. Maybe you're right, Khaat. Maybe we do need to go see if we can find her and talk to her. If we can go, do the rest of you want to go along?" Brian asked. He wasn't going to force them to go into any place dangerous.

"Would you take the girls?" Angus asked.

"Well, um.. that depends on what reports we get about wizarding activity in the area where she lives. If its safe, then, yes, we'll take them. BUt if it isn't, then no. And, actually, I would want to feel the same way about Khaat, but I know she won't stay behind."

"No," Khaat said. "I won't."

"If you're going to go, you'd best do it soon. Before Khaat is too uncomfortable to travel," Kate said. "You know we'll keep the girls. That way Angus could go and get away a bit. He works hard. It would be a good break for him."

"Thank you, Kate," Angus smiled. He rose. "I think I smell dinner. I hope Robert is coming." He went to the kitchen to set the table and serve dinner.

jess ican listened and breathed out when she told them she lived out in the contry but her husband was mean " thats not good for some one to do that , why does she stay with him" she asked some what angry that his sister would lend her self to being treat like that. "If it was me I would not take them " she said and folded her arms " it would be to dangerouse what with her husbane being in that frame of mind , but thats my opinion" she said and listened again " ow Im ready Brian she said and jack nodded as they headed through for dinner.